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Continuing Education

·         Continuing education programs are for students who wish to enhance their professional or personal skills, rather than to study for credit toward a degree or certificate. There is an endless variety of courses offered for students in this area.

·         The certificate programs at two-year colleges are very similar to those found at vocational and technical institutions. Additional information about vocational and technical training, as well as continuing education courses, may be found in the third booklet of this series, which focuses on short-term study opportunities in the United States.

Accreditation 

Institutional accreditation of a community college is very important, especially if you hope to transfer from a two year college to a four-year institution, in which case you will want to ensure recognition of your first two years of study. Nearly all the community colleges and private two year institutions in the United States are accredited by the same agencies that assess the four-year colleges and universities in their geographical area. However, prospective students should always verify the accreditation of any two-year college in which they are interested.

Transfer and Articulation Agreements

In addition to accreditation, the smooth transition from a community college to a four- year institution depends on the strength of the articulation agreement between two schools. These contracts specify which courses transfer automatically from one institution to the other and, therefore, can be counted toward the four-year degree.

Public community colleges work closely with the public universities in their state to develop transfer guidelines. The transfer of credits involving a private or an out-of-state institution may not be as well-defined.

If your ultimate goal is to earn a bachelor's degree, then as early as possible you should:

• declare your intent to pursue a transfer associate degree;

• confer with the academic/ transfer counselor at the community college to identify a major;

• select a four-year institution and seek out the latest information on its transfer policy and its programs of study.

One reason for planning carefully is that schools do not have the same course requirements for identical degrees. By targeting the four-year institution early and determining what is needed to transfer, then following a carefully designed program, you can avoid unnecessary work and expense.

Also, because of accreditation or university requirements , some four-year institutions cannot accept certain courses from other schools. Before taking a lot of courses in one field of study, especially business or engineering, students should talk to their academic/ transfer counselor, who will be familiar with any restrictions.

Recent innovative arrangements have made transferring easier. Some institutions have worked together to establish "dual admissions" policies whereby students are admitted to both two-year and four-year schools at the same time. Immediately after completing an associate degree, the student may transfer directly into the bachelor's program at the cooperating university.

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